


A Feeling From Deep Within

by CaseyMarie



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Spoilers, for the whole game? I think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-08-28 15:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16725849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaseyMarie/pseuds/CaseyMarie
Summary: With Ren always being so closed off, there was never any way to tell how he felt inside.Until suddenly there was.





	1. Chapter 1

Makoto sighs, tapping on her desk absentmindedly while she waits for Ryuji to respond, her single message sent to him staring back at her. ' _Are you free to talk?_ ' Before now she had never found a real reason to message Ryuji. In fact, they rarely interacted individually, always meeting up for Phantom Thieves business or doing something together with the group. She isn't sure how to speak to someone like him, what topics of conversation would they both be interested in?

Her phone pings with the incoming message, bringing Makoto back from her thoughts.

 

 

> **[Ryuji:** what's up?? **]** **_?_**

It’s... difficult to describe in a message, she supposes. She stares at the screen, reading his message over multiple times.

 **[** I was hoping we could meet up, if that's not too much trouble.  
There's something I wanted to discuss with you. **]**

 

 

> **[Ryuji:** sure. shibuya in a bit? **]**

**[** Thank you. I'll see you at the underground walkway once I arrive. **]**

She hesitates before turning off her phone, slipping it into her bag. It’s much easier to hide behind a screen. Conversations in person required quick, confident answers with a ready supply of topics to fall back on should the conversation begin to lull. Despite best efforts, her communications skills are still lacking. When she was in a position of authority or discussing a common interest, talking came easy to her, but when it came to branching out from those areas she faltered. Makoto sighs, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she leaves her room.

Sae looks up from where she sits at the dining table, a book in hand with her laptop pushed to the side. The bookmark is still sitting in the page she was reading, suggesting she hadn't been reading for long, or was unable to concentrate on the page. "Going somewhere?"

"I'm going to talk with a friend. We're meeting at Shibuya train station and I have my phone in case you need to contact me for some reason," Makoto says. Since the business with her shadow, Sae has been home more, free to ‘interrogate’ Makoto every time she attempted to leave the house after evening had fallen. After little incident over the past couple of weeks Sae’s questions have finally mellowed. The concern she hides under a strict facade is reassuring though, considering Makoto spent her own afternoons fighting shadows.

"How long will you be out? Who are you seeing?"

"I'm not sure, though it shouldn't take long. I'm meeting with Ryuji Sakamoto," Makoto says.

Sae frowns, tapping the spine of her book absentmindedly. "Be careful, okay? I don't want you staying out too long."

"I will," Makoto promises, leaning over to give her a quick hug. "Will you be able to manage starting dinner on your own?"

"Of course I can," Sae says indignantly, shooing her away. "Go on... it's good for you to be getting so close with everyone."

Makoto smiles fondly. "I know."

* * *

Makoto fiddles with her bag strap, ducking through the late night crowds of those who are on their way home from a long day of work. It hadn’t occurred to her until after she left, but the meeting place she’d so readily offered is the same place they meet when going into Mementos. Just being here makes her feel jumpy, ready for a battle she isn’t even going to fight.

“Oi, Makoto!” She turns after hearing her name called, aware of the many passerbyers that turned to look as well. Ryuji waves, his usual bright appearance making him easy to spot.

She waits until she is actually within an appropriate distance to greet him. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Nah, just a couple minutes,” he says, holding up a small bag in his hand. “Just long enough to buy some taiyaki. Want some?”

“That would be nice.” She doesn’t really want any but after he’d gone to the trouble of buying some for her she can’t say no. “Why don’t we sit down?” she suggests, glancing around the station for a free bench.

An old woman had just stood up, taking the shopping bags that had occupied the seat with her and Makoto quickly claims it, putting her own bag next to her. Ryuji sits down, his attention looking to be more focused on the food.

"I was just wondering… Have you noticed Ren acting strange recently? You've known him longest so I assume you know him best," she says.

"Strange?" Ryuji has already begun stuffing his mouth with the taiyaki, every word he spoke releasing crumbs. "In what way?"

She braces her hands beside her on the bench. Of course, she had invited him out on such baseless accusations against Ren. It could be that nothing was wrong, Makoto was simply on edge due to the recent events, in which case she would've wasted Ryuji's time for silly concerns. She squirms in her seat slightly, finding the words to say.

“It’s weird,” she says, faltering after only two words. There really was no better way to describe it. Weird. “What happened to Akechi was awful, despite his crimes, he didn’t deserve to die, it’s possible Ren is just grieving. I’m not sure how well they knew each other.”

Ryuji speaks up after yet another of her pauses. “Is this about Mementos? I asked him about it couple days ago and he said he just wanted to be prepared.”

It _is_ about Mementos, mostly. They’d finally gained access to Shido’s treasure but Ren had refused to send out the calling card, insisting on days of exploring Mementos without breaks. Makoto’s entire week has been filled with the same dreary environment, even conversation between the team’s quirky ensemble beginning to lull at points. Despite the obvious exhaustion his team was feeling, Ren never faltered, fighting each shadow with more aggression than the last, and they never complained to him.

“I know, I’ve just never seen him so angry before. And when we’re not in Mementos he’s even more closed off than usual, I can barely get him to talk,” Makoto says, looking down at the wide-eyed stare of her taiyaki. She finally takes a bite, trying to sate her worries with the bean paste.

Meanwhile, Ryuji had just finished his. He scrunches up the paper bag into a ball, pressing it tighter as he thought. “I get what you mean. That guy’s so weird anyway but… I wanna believe he’s got this under control.”

“I just can’t help but worry… the previous times we’ve witnessed abnormal behaviour like this…” Makoto murmurs, her shoulders slumping.

It takes a minute for her insinuation to click for him. Immediately his voice rises much above the volume he’d been sticking to for their conversation, expressing the exact thoughts she’d asked herself.

“Are you seriously insinuating _Ren_ has a palace?!” Ryuji looks shocked. Makoto winces first at the volume, and then again internally at his tone. Of course, she’s the one jumping to conclusions. Being exposed to all this was making her paranoid.

“I’m sorry.” She bows her head slightly. “I wanted to explore every possibility.”

Ryuji starts for a moment, ruffling his hair, before shaking his head roughly. “No way, I’m gonna prove it alright. There’s no way he has one.” He quickly pulls out his phone, a smug smile on his face. “Ren Amamiya… Se-?”

“Candidate found.”

Makoto’s head flies up, matching Ryuji’s wide-eyed stare at his phone. Every hope that she was wrong disappears in that moment.

“You’ve gotta be ‘effing kidding me!” he exclaims, attracting the attention of those around them. “It- It’s Ren. He’s got a _persona_. It’s gotta be some other guy.”

The correction is caught in her throat. _Actually, he has multiple personas_. The probability of someone else with the same name having a palace is incredibly low. If anything, there could possibly be an Ren Amamiya in another prefecture’s version of Mementos. But a palace… The ultimate form of one’s distorted desires.

“Makoto, you can’t seriously think it’s him?! He’s our leader, where would we be without him?!” Ryuji demands, shoving his phone back into his pocket with more force than necessary.

Where _would_ they be? The students of Shujin Academy would still be under Kamoshida’s reign while Makoto, the student council president, remained blind to the horrible things happening beneath the surface. Would Shiho still be alive, recovering slowly at another school? Would _Ann_ still be alive? What would’ve happened to Ryuji? Makoto’s breath catches in her throat, her corners of her eyes stinging.

“ _No_. Ryuji, you’re jumping to conclusions,” she says firmly, straightening her posture. Yusuke would still be trapped under Madarame’s care.The people of Shibuya would continue to have their money stolen from them by Kaneshiro. Futaba would still be trapped in her own mind. The employees of Okumura Foods would still be suffering. The mental shutdowns would continue. What Ren had done for everyone was amazing, there was no doubt. “Someone doesn’t have to be evil in order to have a palace. We went through this very thing with Futaba, remember?”

Ryuji leans over, resting his head in his hands, his elbows balanced on his legs. “...It just sucks to think that he’s got issues like that and kept them to himself. He can count on us too.”

Makoto nods solemnly, her gaze drifting away from Ryuji. Despite how much she herself has relied on Ren, and surely has everyone else he associates himself with, had he really never wanted to reach out to her for reassurement? It feels selfish in some way… but she wants to be there for him just as he is for her.

“Right,” Ryuji says suddenly, and she quickly looks back to him. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this, you hear me? Ren’s my best friend, I’m sure as hell not letting him pull a Futaba - and I doubt she’d ever let him either.”

“Ah, of course.” Makoto less gracefully gets to her feet after Ryuji stands up, the fire back in his movements. “I’ll follow your lead, Ryuji.”

He looks at her for only a second before shaking his head, flashing his usual grin. “No way am I the leader. After Ren, you’re the one we all look to, ya’ know? You’re our Queen after all.”

“Me..?”

It’s funny… before meeting the Phantom Thieves… Makoto was used to feeling like the outsider… The blush staining her cheeks and the happiness flitting in her chest aren’t anything she was ever accustomed to.

“Then you can rely on me,” she says firmly, meeting his gaze with a new, strengthened resolve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can tell how long this has been sitting in my "to write" folder because I had to change the name from Akira to Ren rip
> 
> I think I've only ever read one palace AU and I don't even remember which one it was......... but I like the concept so time for me to be unoriginal and try it out for myself...... also I wrote a dumb "the phantom thieves but they're six" a while back and you should maybe read that too idk
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed!! updates should be once a week so. tune in next week. if you comment there is a 30% chance I will cry over you so. feel free to leave kudos/comments!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaa I meant to get this out two days ago but totally forgot ;-; It's finished now tho so I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

**[** I was hoping we could all meet up to discuss something important. **]**

 **[Ann:** Are you okay? **]** **_?_**

 **[Ryuji:** its about ren. we checked yesterday, hes got a palace **]**

 **[Futaba:** ren??? has a palace????? **]** **_!?_**

 **[Yusuke:** I was wondering why he was absent from this chat **]**

 **[Haru:** I hope he’s okay… o(TヘTo) **]**

 **[** Futaba, is it alright if we use your room as the meeting place?  
Considering we can’t use Le Blanc, it seems like the most secure place to discuss this. **]**

 **[Futaba:** (；￣Д￣)  
**Futaba:** youre lucky i like ren so much **]**

 **[Haru:** are we not including Ren or Mona? **]** **_?_**

 **[** I don’t want to leave them out but… **]**

 **[Ann:** They can join after!! We’ll get this sorted out in no time **]**

 **[** That’s right. **]**

* * *

Yusuke is the last to arrive and the second he walks through her door, Futaba shoots him a glance, narrowing her eyes. "No touching anything, got it, Inari?"

"Of course," he says, his gaze only flickering to her action figures quickly.

"Hmph." She walks over to her desk chair before slouching in the seat. "So… we're meeting up to figure out Ren’s palace, huh?"

"It doesn't feel right going behind his back like this," Haru says, seated on the bed.

Makoto sits down beside her, frowning slightly. "It's for his own benefit. I'm sure he would understand."

"I know what I said earlier but…" Ann says hesitantly. "Not even including Morgana; it really does feel like we're sneaking around."

"We already know he’s got a palace, so…” Ryuji trails off, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"I don't suppose anyone would know what he views as his palace?" Makoto asks.

Yusuke hums, resting his hand on his chin. "I suppose it would logical to start with LeBlanc."

" _No candidate found_."

"Maybe Shujin Academy?" Haru suggests, sighing when the same response is given.

"Man," Ryuji groans, ruffling his own hair. "It can't be too tough, not like the guy goes anywhere other than Mementos."

" _Candidate found_."

"Wha-?!" he splutters.

"I didn't realise... it was possible to have the Metaverse as your palace," Makoto says.

"Woah, I can't believe Ryuji got it right," Futaba says.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” he demands, getting a shrug in response as she spins lazily in her chair.

Haru fiddles with the hem of her sweater, not meeting anyone’s gaze. “Maybe we should have interfered sooner… did all of these visits to Mementos cause this..?”

“Haru, don’t blame yourself,” Makoto says, resting her hand on Haru’s. “For him to have a palace these emotions would have had to be simmering longer than we’ve known him.”

“Which means he’s been hiding them all this time…” Yusuke murmurs.

Futaba doesn’t let the silence linger in her room too long. “Way to drag down the mood even further, Inari! We just have to help him, right? Like you all helped me. And then after we do that, we can go all dating sim on him until he feels better, just like what he did for me.”

“…Geez, Futaba. Way to show the rest of us up,” Ann says, a smile now on her lips. “We’re totally gonna help him, no matter what! And this time we’ll even have Ren with us, there’s no way we can’t beat this palace.”

“About that,” Makoto quickly interjects, and all eyes turn to her. She can feel it in her gut, how selfish this decision is, but… “I was thinking that before we take this to Ren, we should look inside his palace first. Just in case it’s anything serious- I don’t want to suddenly spring this on him and risk hurting him even more.”

Makoto can never guess what is going on inside his head… for just this brief insight, maybe she can understand _something_ …

“If we go behind his back like that it’ll probably hurt him even more,” Ryuji says and Makoto hangs her head. She knows this, of course.

“That’s right-! Besides, we never go into a palace without everyone agreeing on the target. If we don’t tell Ren and Morgana then how are they supposed to agree?” Ann asks, but Ryuji shakes his head slightly.

“I wasn’t… saying that we shouldn’t do it. Just that it isn’t the best idea.”

“Ryuji..?” Haru says quietly.

“It’s killing me that he just bottled up all this shit… I know we shouldn’t feel responsible for it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna. If I can just see what sort of hell he’s trapping himself in, maybe that’ll help us help him,” Ryuji says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I get it’s dumb and all, but…”

“I feel the same,” Yusuke says. “Ren is our leader, but it’s unfair to leave all of the work to him. Surely, we can allow him to have a break, if only for this one palace visit.”

“So you just want us to go into his mind without permission?” Ann asks sharply. “I don’t care if you guys don’t see any problem with that, but I don’t want to betray his trust like that. None of us would even have this power if it weren’t for him.”

Futaba’s curled up on her chair so when she speaks up, it’s half muffled by her knees. “If you guys had gone into my palace without asking I think I would’ve been super mad… but in the end, my life is already so much better because of it. We’re obviously not the same, but maybe Ren will forgive us if we just go in quickly. Then after that we’ll tell him everything and he can decide if we go in properly.”

“If you’re not comfortable with it… we won’t,” Makoto promises and Ann’s gaze slides over to her, biting her lip softly. “But I still think it would be wise to do this first. Just as a precautionary measure.”

Ann leans against Futaba’s wardrobe door, crossing her arms and looking beside her to Ryuji. “…You really think this is the best decision?”

“For sure. ‘Sides, Makoto’s usually right about this stuff, isn’t she?” Ryuji says. _Not at all…_

“Guess that’s true,” Ann agrees, sighing shortly. “Let’s do it. It’s time Ren let us take charge of the palace raiding.”

* * *

“Hey, Ren! You up to much?” Ryuji calls in greeting, attracting the attention of the only other person currently in Le Blanc. Boss isn't even here, theoretically making this conversation easier if it weren't for Ryuji still trying to figure out how to start it.

“Coffee,” he says, gesturing to the jars behind him.

“Um, yeah. Gross.” Ren rolls his eyes as Ryuji takes a seat at the bar. “Got any good drinks back there?”

“Yeah, it’s called _coffee_ ,” he deadpans.

“No way, dude! That stuff’s so bitter,” Ryuji complains.

“Uh huh…” Ren turns away, his tone too dry for Ryuji to consider he’s got anything nice in mind. “Try this one out then.”

Ryuji watches somewhat impatiently as Ren prepares the drink, the bar being even more stunk up with coffee smell. There’s no way this is gonna taste good, but watching Ren make it is alright. Maybe his palace has got something to do with coffee..? Though, it’d be pretty weird to imagine the Metaverse as a coffee shop. Can shadows even drink coffee?

“Drink up,” Ren says, placing the coffee in front of him with a small smirk. Ryuji raises his eyebrows at the steaming drink.

“I have this weird feeling that you’ve poisoned it.”

“I’m hurt.”

Ryuji takes as small of a sip that he can, barely even tasting it. So he does the _intelligent_ thing, and gulps down an entire mouthful.

_Nope, nope, nope. Definitely cruel and unusual punishment!_

He pushes the coffee away with a bitter expression, mourning his taste buds. “Absolutely not.”

A flash of a smirk skirts across Ren’s lips as he takes back the cup. “I’ll find something you like one day.”

“Yeah, a normal drink,” Ryuji groans, resting his head on his crossed arms. “…Hey… what do you think my palace would look like if I had one?”

Ren frowns at the question, pausing mid-pour of detergent into the water-filled sink. “Food.”

“That’s not very specific,” he grumbles. “What about yours?”

“Mine?” Ren repeats, his frown deepening.

“Yeah. Maybe something flashy so you can pull off shit like that window stunt in Sae’s palace,” Ryuji suggests. His only response is a smug look as Ren begins to wash up the dishes.

Ryuji raises his head slightly to watch Ren’s movements, trying to think of _anything_ that could show why this guy had a palace or what the hell it could be. As his first friend from Shujin, Ryuji obviously would be able to see what was wrong… Or not.

He sighs. “So what do you think?”

“About what?”

“Did you already forget what we were talking about. C’mon man, your palace!” Ryuji says.

A deadpan stare. “Isn’t it impossible?”

“Geez… learn to play along.” He lets his head drop back to his arms.

Ren doesn’t say anything, his attention fully on the dishes and the ridiculous amount of bubbles he’d decided to wash them with. Ryuji is surprised he can even see the water, although it’s sort of his fault for distracting Ren while he was pouring in the detergent. Ryuji is just about to change the topic when Ren speaks, barely a whisper under his breath.

“Maybe a prison..?”

Ryuji jerks to attention. “What was that?” he asks, despite hearing him clearly the first time.

Ren glances up, blinking behind his glasses like he’s surprised to see Ryuji sitting there. “…Wanna watch a movie? I’m getting bored of these dishes.”

He literally just started. It’s such an obvious distraction. Ryuji stands up, grabbing his school bag off the stool next to him. “Sure. I’m picking though.”

* * *

“A _prison?_ ” Ann repeats, her expression matching the shock in her voice. “What- Why would he keep taking us to Mementos if he thinks it’s a prison?”

“I guess that is why he has a palace. Logic isn’t always going to apply,” Yusuke says, glancing around the small corner of the train station that they’ve hidden themselves in.

Makoto frowns, her gaze still on Ryuji. Once they meet eyes, he sighs, pulling out his phone. “Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

“Are we going now?” Futaba asks.

“Is there something else you need to do? We can wait, if you need,” Haru says.

Futaba hesitates, tapping the wall she’s leaning on absentmindedly. “Nah. Let’s do this. For Ren.”

“For Ren,” Ryuji repeats, opening up the Meta-Nav. “Ren Amamiya. Mementos. Prison.”

“ _Beginning navigation._ ”

The Meta-Nav starts up, meaning they got the right combination. As they disappear into the Metaverse, though… no one’s expression betrays any happiness about this.


	3. Chapter 3

“Holy crap…”

No one other than Ryuji says anything, staring at the stone building that looms over them, security already looking tight. Not only that, but…

“He… already views us as a threat?” Ann says, the red tail of Panther’s costume swinging behind her.

“I suppose it makes sense with how closed off he is… that anyone he’s not expecting in his palace is labelled as an enemy,” Yusuke muses.

Haru fidgets, playing with the brim of her hat as she continues to look over the building. “Do you think… this is what it felt like when he was arrested..?”

“Fuck,” Ryuji curses, kicking at the ground. “I can’t believe- why did he just keep this from us?”

“It can be hard to speak up,” Futaba says quietly and no one responds.

“First things first, we find an entry point. As soon as we find his shadow, we get out,” Makoto says, bringing the attention of the group to her.

Ann is the first to speak, determination shining in her expression. “You got it, Queen.”

“Hell yeah! We’ll get to the bottom of this in no time!” Ryuji exclaims, sticking his thumb up towards her.

Ren having a palace… It’s just been two days since she met with Ryuji in Shibuya and there’s still a small, doubtful part of her that struggles to truly believe that such toxic emotions have been swirling around in their leader for so long, gone completely undetected… Standing here in front of the physical manifestation of the walls he’s created for himself is almost painful to accept, but that’s just more of a reason why they have to try their best… For Ren.

“There might be an entrance on the roof, like how there was one in Madarame’s palace,” Ann muses and Futaba glances around.

“It’s probably worth a shot. Most of the security looks focused on the lower levels and main entrances… Of course, this isn’t just gonna be some walk in the park, but if we put enough points in stealth then I don’t think we’ll run into too much trouble,” she says, adjusting her goggles like she would with her glasses.

"Right." Makoto looks over the group, piecing together their roles in her head. "Futaba can you lead the way? I'll be right behind you, so just keep an eye out for anything that we won't notice."

Futaba saluts with a small grin. "Aye, aye, your majesty."

Your majesty..? Makoto frowns as Futaba's lips just tug upwards further. "Yusuke, Haru, Ann, and I will be ready in case we run into any shadows. Ryuji, I'll be counting on you to back us up."

"I've gotcha," he says, hands confidently on his hips. "Anything happens and you can turn straight to me."

She could probably keep giving orders and everyone would listen for as long as she delayed... but Ren's depending on them to get this done, even if he doesn't know about it right now. There's no benefit in putting it off.

"Then let's go."

* * *

The climb up to the roof is largely uneventful, apart from Futaba almost falling from an unsteady platform and being caught just in time by Ann. The group crowds closer to Futaba now as they stand at the edge of a small hatch, decorated in what almost looks like blue cards.

"Geez, Ren's really giving me a run for my money," Futaba mutters, on her third lockpick. The lock has remained firm.

"I didn't realise it was so difficult. Ren almost acts as if they're not there," Haru says, watching Futaba's fingers closely.

Yusuke nods. "He often performs tasks with a grace that not many can match. It's something I would like to capture the essence of in a painting one day, though I'd be far too-"

"Got it! Thanks, Inari," Futaba says, glancing up with the padlock in her hand.

He frowns, tilting his head. "I didn't realise I was able to assist you in your task."

"Nah. I just thought if I had to listen to you ramble about art I'd go insane. Sometimes new motivation is all you need," she says, a smirk playing at her lips.

"Well, it's off now! We just gonna jump down, or something?" Ryuji asks, lifting up the hatch to look down.

Ann rolls her eyes. "You make it sound like this is your first palace."

Makoto ducks by the hatch, looking down into the room while Ryuji keeps it open. The room itself doesn’t have much in it, not even any shadows, meaning there’s nothing to use as a safe way down. They’d already had one falling scare, a second isn’t exactly preferable.

“Futaba, have you ever attempted to… ride your persona?” she asks.

Futaba frowns slightly. “I guess not. You want us to use it to get down?”

“Hopefully. Since it’s just cognitive I don’t want to put too much faith in it, but we could at least jump down to it and then jump to the floor rather than freefall this.”

“Psh, it being cognitive is exactly why you _should_ believe in it. I’ll keep us flying with my willpower alone,” she says, standing up by the hatch. Ann steps a little closer to her side. “Persona!”

Necronomicon appears above them and she frowns up at it.

“Uh, go down! Persodown! In the hatch!” It hovers around for a moment and Futaba huffs, stomping her foot. Necronomicon disappears with a flash, appearing below them inside. “Heh. Just like I planned.”

“That didn’t look very plann-”

“Thanks for volunteering, Inari!” Futaba interrupts, shoving him in front of her.

Yusuke stumbles and falls down the hatch. Makoto dives for the edge, but is greeted by Yusuke sprawled out safely on Futaba’s persona.

He rubs his head, sitting up normally. “Ouch.”

"Are you alright, Yusuke?" calls Haru, peering down at him.

"I believe so."

"O- Okay, I'm coming down, then!" she says, jumping down after him.

“I knew it was safe! Come on, who's next,” Futaba says, gesturing down.

No one else moves.

“Ugh, looks like I’m up.” Ryuji steps forward, but at the last second tugs Ann down with him. They both disappear with a scream from Ann.

“Ryuji, I’m going to _kill_ you!” she shrieks when they’ve landed, hitting his arm repeatedly.

“You’re down now, aren’t ya?” he says, and she huffs loudly, glancing up at Makoto and Futaba.

The both of them glance at each other before following the rest of their team, Makoto holding back a sigh this whole time. Necronomicon floats them to the ground. It disappears as Makoto inspects the room they've been dropped in. The only real things of note are three doors, each with a different colour of paint applied sloppily in the center. One blue, one yellow, one red.

"Do we have to pick one?" Haru asks, touching the coat of yellow paint with one finger. Her finger comes away clean so, despite the appearance, it's all definitely dry.

“Red, perhaps..?” Yusuke suggests. “To reflect Arsene’s main colouration.”

“We’re gonna choose on that flaky deduction?” Ryuji says dryly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“It’s better than nothing,” Makoto says. “Besides, it can’t hurt to check all of them eventually; they might all have some sort of clue towards Ren’s behaviour.”

She opens the door carefully, peering inside before stepping forward. Futaba chirps off a, “nothing strange ahead so far!” as they all walk through, the door closing behind them. Makoto leads the way, hoping for something to suitably light up the dim tunnel, the path turning down many corners. Instead she’s left to head towards a soft, blue glow she can see from around the next turn that seems out of place with the red paint, hoping no shadows will be prepared to ambush them once they reach it. She grits her teeth as she rounds the corner, scanning the room immediately.

Prison cells. It’s a circular room, with the same blue tint as the corridors leading to it. The cells are full, each one crowded with multiple different personas, even though they aren’t able to comfortably fit. The sight of them laying in each cell, their spirit defeated, leaves a sick feeling in her stomach. In the middle of the room is a desk, a masked figure sitting on top of it.

He flashes them a smug grin, kicking his legs back and forth without a care in the world, the heels on his red boots looking sharp enough to use as a weapon. His trench coat is red as well, the sleeves going past his wrists to look like fingerless gloves on his hands. Red like blood. Against her will, Makoto’s mind flashes back to the splash of red on the door that led to this.

A dark feeling claws at her heart with shadow-like fingers. She quickly darts her eyes up to his face. His usual messy, black hair is covered up with an obscenely long top hat but his mask hasn’t changed. A pair of yellow eyes stare directly at her through his white mask, glittering with amusement.

“Who- Who the hell are you..?!” Ryuji demands, stomping forward a step. Of course, they all already know.

“I am justice.” Joker grins, jumping off the desk with a flourish of a bow and remarkably remaining upright. “Welcome to my Velvet Room."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, in my notes: I want Ren to stab me with his heels sdkljsdlk  
> I’m so sorry for the long break! thank you to everyone who's read so far, I appreciate you all more than I can express~!! updates will be on Sundays AEST, but whether or not that ends up being once a fortnight or once a month will just depend on how fast I can write these >.>  
> please continue to be patient with me! <3


End file.
